Business owners have been advised to desist from short-changing the government in the new tax regime of Nigeria or be ready to face the consequences.
Mr Emmanuel Nnamani, Executive Chairman, Enugu State Internal Revenue Service, stated this weekend in a chat with our correspondent in Enugu. Nnamani said such would amount to tax evasion, and the culprits would be fined accordingly. He also advised chartered accountant against misleading their clients to underpay taxes.
According to him, “The government monitors bank accounts of companies from the other side. We know how much that comes to one’s account in a year. A chartered accountant that encourages his clients to short-change the government is one that does not love his country. And when a company files a financial report that does not synchronise with what is in its bank account, government will reject it, and also place heavy fines on such companies. Accountants need to capture every revenue and expenditure.”
He advised business owners to upgrade to limited liability companies and ensure that they prepare their financial reports to enable tax officials to ascertain what they should pay under the new tax regime. “Without financial reports, tax officials won’t know the financial status of the business,” he said, adding that, “We then do what we call presumptive tax on the business. We make an assumption, and charge accordingly. Apart from paying the statutory N36, 000 in markets for Enugu traders, you still pay additional tax if we assess that one’s business is making more than N100m in a year. But for those that submit a financial statement, the tax will be based on what was submitted. But when business owners fail to do the needful, we make assumptions and charge accordingly.”
He encouraged Nigerians to key into the regime for the economic development of the country. Quoting Nnamani, “It is a pro-citizen tax law. In the past, the rich pay nothing to government as tax because they are king-makers and also have the ears of the government. The new tax law ensures that the rich pay taxes equivalent to what they are earning. Because of that, the rich are ganging up against the tax law. The Pay As You Earn, which employees pay, has gone down drastically. The beneficiaries are people who earn salaries below N2m per annum. If they are contributing to NHIS, pension and so on, they will pay zero tax. Those that are not contributing will pay minimal. The law said VAT is payable, but VAT on essentials is not paid for. The prices of food will continue to go down because food is part of such essentials.”
Our correspondent reports that the new tax regime took effects from January 1, 2026, and exempts individuals earning ₦800,000 or less annually (or minimum wage earners) from personal income tax (PAYE). Small businesses with annual turnover under ₦50 million are exempted from Company Income Tax (CIT), while essential items like food, healthcare, and education are zero-rated for VAT.
